History of Gander
International Airport

The decision to build an
airport in Newfoundland was made at an air conference in Ottawa in 1935,
when agreement was reached by the governments concerned to permit one
British and one American company to undertake experimental flights
across the North Atlantic, with a view to the early establishment of
regular services. It was hoped that these experimental flights could
commence in 1936, using flying boats which were already in operation by
the companies and were considered suitable to undertake the flights
under experimental conditions. It was realized that land planes would
certainly be brought into operation on the North Atlantic with the
normal progress of technical development in aircraft; but, at this time,
no land planes had been developed suitable for experimental flight.
Also, the time taken to develop the necessary airports would be such
that it was essential to conduct the early experiments with flying
boats, as a flying boat base could be developed on very short notice.
Consequently, late in 1935, officials of the British Air Ministry
visited Newfoundland selected Botwood as the location of the flying boat
base and this present location of Gander (then known as the Newfoundland
Airport) for the development of the land plane base.

Early in 1936 work
commenced in England, Canada and the U.S. to establish the necessary
ground services on each side of the Atlantic and in Newfoundland. At
the same time, the Eire government came into the picture and
establishment commenced of a flying boat base with the necessary
wireless and meteorological facilities at Foynes on the River Shannon.

The Newfoundland government
assumed the responsibility for the development of Botwood and Gander
with the assistance, both financial and technical, of the British Air
Ministry. Work commenced on the site selected at Mile Post 213 on the
Newfoundland Railway in June 1936.

In August 1935, a technical
representative of the Air Ministry arrived in Newfoundland with the
primary objective of developing Botwood as a flying boat base and to
install radio facilities for the forthcoming experimental flights. In
the meantime, the Canadian government, who had assumed responsibility
for the meteorological services, had gathered the nucleus of a
forecasting staff and commenced training in the specialized work for the
Atlantic. This staff eventually arrived in Botwood in June 1937 ready
for the first experimental flight. The Botwood radio station was ready
for operation in January 1937 with facilities for direct communication
across the Atlantic and for aircraft, together with the necessary
navigational assistance in the form of medium and high frequency
direction finding. The first members of the radio staff from the Air
Ministry arrived at Botwood and commencement was made in recruiting a
radio staff of Newfoundland operators.

Little work was carried out
at Gander during the winter of 1935-37, chiefly due to the fact that
winter work was uneconomical. However, by the end of the summer season
of 1936, considerable progress had been made. The working strength had
risen to 500 and the acquisition of a large quantity of grading
equipment had effected a surprising change in the forest and there were
definite signs of the formation of the runways.

In the spring of 1937,
there was considerable activity at both Botwood and Gander. The working
force at Gander was increased to 900 and Botwood was ready to operate
the experimental flights. The first commercial Atlantic flight was
completed July 5, 1937 when, on a simultaneous crossing, the Pan
American Clipper left Botwood and the Imperial Airways Caledonia left
Foynes. The success of these two flights and those which followed in
1937 was a happy augury for the future.

By 1938 there were signs
that there might be land planes ready for the experimental services. To
this end, work was pushed ahead at Gander in order to have at last the
full length of runways available together with a hangar, however,
technical developments of the land planes on both sides of the Atlantic
did not fulfill expectations and the runways still remained unused.
During 1938 it was realized that the main traffic across the Atlantic
would be carried out by land planes and the need for the permanent
Atlantic wireless organization at Gander. Thus, on completion of the
flying boat season at Botwood in 1938, control, radio and meteorological
organizations, which by this time had reached a strength of about 50,
moved over to Gander. It can be taken that this date, November 30,
1938, marks the actual bringing of Gander into the world as an operation
station. However, communications with the outside world showed no break
and, when the key was lifted at Botwood for the last time, Gander was
ready to take over.

With the advent of spring
1939, the end of the project was well in hand. There remained the
paving of the full width of the runways and completion of the drainage.
The airport could be considered ready for operation but there still
remained the lack of suitable aircraft for Atlantic flights. During the
summer season, flying operation did commence with the arrival of two
refueling aircraft which were used throughout the summer of 1939 to
refuel in the air all Imperial Airways flying boats leaving Botwood on
the eastbound crossing.

By the outbreak of war in
September 1939, Gander was complete and was ready for civil operation.
The cost, which had given so much trouble in peacetime, was forgotten.
The value of a fully complete airport in such a strategic position could
not be assessed, particularly, when one realizes that, at that time,
Gander was the only operative airport in Newfoundland or in the
Maritimes.

It appeared that commercial
operation on the Atlantic would be suspended, but the civil staff waited
– not knowing what the military developments would be, however, as a
civil operation, during the winter of 1939, experiments were carried out
to test the possibility of operating on wheels under winter conditions.
These experiments had most valuable results as, in the following winter;
delivery of military aircraft to Great Britain was commenced using the
original civil organization.

During the winter of
1939-40, when experiments were being carried out on the runways,
sufficient confidence was obtained to give agreement to a visit of RCAF
planes on a survey flight, thus, the first RCAF aircraft and personnel
to arrive at Gander was the occasion of a short visit of two Hudson
aircraft on February 10, 1940. The first detachment for duty arrived
some months later. At that time, the airport was still under the
control of the civil organization and the detachment of officers and men
were accommodated with the civilian resident staff in the only building
available at that time – the old Administration Building and
Construction Engineers’ Mess.

On November 9, 1940 the
first formation of bombers for Britain, made in the United States, set
out from Gander and reached England the following morning. This
demonstrated the feasibility of delivery by air and shortly afterwards
Gander became the scene of regular flights of these aircraft – manned by
men of all nationalities. These flight deliveries were organized by
ATFERO – Atlantic Ferry Organization (later RAF Transport Command) which
the RAF set up at Gander as a unit to handle the increasing flow of
bombers in 1941. Up to this date, control and signals were handled by
the Newfoundland staff and weather forecasting by Canadian staff. Not
until 1941 did the RCAF take over the functions of the Newfoundland
staff. It is not generally known that the Newfoundland staff played
such an important part in the early days of bomber deliveries.

In 1942 the Newfoundland
Government handed over control of the Newfoundland Airport (Gander) to
the Canadian government and it became a mighty military airfield. The
RAF continued as a separate unit and, when the United States entered the
War, their planes and solders came in to use the field, the base being
an RCAF Station. There was a continuous delivery of planes and many
thousands dropped down at Gander on their way to the war zone.

At the end of the war, the
Newfoundland Government resume control of Gander from the Canadian
Government. In the meantime, as from October 1945, Pan American,
American Overseas Airlines and Trans World Airlines had carried out
preliminary flights via Gander and, by the end of the year, had
established regular Atlantic passenger services by way of Gander. When
the Newfoundland government took over again, this passenger traffic was
already assuming large proportions and the Government was faced with the
problem of meeting increased passenger accommodation in the shape of
rest rooms, hotels, etc.

The first concern,
therefore, was to arrange temporary passenger accommodation. A hangar
was used as a waiting room and accommodations were found in a converted
military barracks. A lounge and dining room was created out of a NCOs’
mess. Ultimately, a passenger terminal was built in a portion of an
existing RAF hangar. This was officially opened on September 14, 1946.

Because of its strategic
location in Northeastern Newfoundland, Gander has been a main refueling
base for transatlantic flights operating between Europe and North
America, ever since it was completed in 1939. A logical “half-way
house” for the inter-hemispherical air traveler, It is 1021 miles from
Canada’s capital, Ottawa; 1100 miles from New York and 1981 miles from
Shannon, Ireland. It serves as the Eastern Terminal for the vast and
efficient system of controlled Canadian airways, maintained by the
Ministry of Transport and extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific and
northward into the Arctic.

The airport’s facilities
have kept pace with the great forward strides being made by aviation.
Gander’s first air terminal housed the Administration Building, along
with departments of the former Government of Newfoundland. It was then
decided to take over an old hangar for use as a Terminal. Still later,
a combination hangar-garage, used by the wartime Ferry Command, was
converted into an International Terminal and an adjoining mess hall was
made into a Domestic Terminal.

By 1954, it became apparent
that a new terminal must be erected to handle an estimated 13,000
aircraft a year and the quarter million or more passengers aboard them.

The Ministry of Transport
built a new Terminal to meet all anticipated requirements for many years
into the future. The most modern of facilities were incorporated in the
structure, to provide airline operators with the newest and best in
aerial navigation and safety aids, and the air traveler with pleasantly
efficient and comfortable accommodations to meet all his requirements.
Special emphasis was placed on the needs of passengers arriving from
overseas points, from the standpoint of Customs, Health and other
documentary processing.

It was built at a cost of
just over $3,000,000 and is fitted with the finest of equipment for the
requirements of jet age aviation and the jet age air traveler. It was
designed to meet the special needs of an airport serving, to a major
extent, international aviation. One of its principal features is the
large international waiting room in which the travel0tired airplane
passenger can stretch his legs and relax during stopovers without having
to go through full “entry into Canada” formalities.

International passengers
enter by way of one of five gates located along the length of a
two-story “finger” projecting from the building. To return to their
aircraft, they ascend to the upper level by means of an escalator and
proceed along the “finger” down to the appropriate gate position. The
“finger” is so designed that it can be increased in length, should the
number of flights into Gander demand more gate positions.

All other parts of the
building are also designed so they can be expanded without affecting the
round-the-clock operation of the Terminal.

The Information Booth is
manned by a bilingual staff prepared to give travelers information about
Canada or Newfoundland at any hour.

Of particular note in the
International Waiting Area is the 69 foot long mural, 12 feet high, by
Canadian artist Kenneth Lochhead of Regina and the “Welcoming Birds,” a
striking sculptured group in bronze by Ottawa artist, Arthur Price. Mr.
Lochead’s work is based upon the general theme “The Air.” Mr. Price’s
figures, standing four feet high on a bronze base eight feet long,
represent the welcome accorded by Canada to air travelers from abroad.

Health Department,
Immigration and Customs offices are so located that the transatlantic
air traveler can be cleared quickly through the health check-up and
customs inspection and admitted to the International Waiting Room.
Should he move, however, into the Air Terminal’s other seas, he has to
do so through full formal procedure for “entering Canada.” Similarly,
anyone going from these areas into the International Waiting Room has to
go through official “leaving Canada” formalities.

The Health and Welfare
Department’s inspection services at Gander for transatlantic air
passengers are carried out under a reciprocal arrangement with the
United States government and are valid for persons continuing directly
to points in the United States.

Coupled with the Air
Terminal’s operations are complete facilities for servicing aircraft,
including an underground “hydrant” system for high speed refueling of
aircraft.

The Air Terminal Building
was built by Kenny Construction Company Limited and the architects were
Durnford, Bolton, Chadwick and Ellwood of Montreal.

The runways at Gander
underwent extensive changes. One was extended by the Ministry of
Transport from its original 5000 foot length to 8600 feet; one at 6000
feet long was left at its original length and one new one built, 8200
feet long. Still another, one of the original runways, was abandoned
because its location did not permit necessary extension.

All runways were
strengthened extensively to handle the increasingly heavy types of
aircraft that were being put into use on transatlantic runs. Taxi
strips were also built to serve the two main runways and speed up the
handling of traffic.

When the aircraft first
went into operation, runway lighting was provided with power from a
battery system. This was replaced by the latest type of high intensity
lighting to provide the best possible night visibility for pilots.
Improvements of the airport facilities at Gander since 1949 has been an
unending project. The task will continue for, as the aviation scene
changes, so must the operations at Gander change to meet new
requirements.